Oil And Gas Producer News

Inspections of Norway's offshore gas pipelines after the Nord Stream blasts found nothing suspicious, an executive at energy major Equinor told Reuters, in the first official word on the security sweep.However, risks remain after last year's still-unexplained explosions at the Nord Stream pipelines built to carry Russian gas to Germany via the Baltic Sea, warned Jannicke Nilsson, who manages security for Equinor.Europe's largest gas supplier after a drop in Russian flows last year, Equinor also acts as technical service provider for offshore pipelines operator Gassco.

ConocoPhillips said on Thursday it would take a 30% equity stake in Sempra Energy's Port Arthur liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant in Texas, as the U.S. oil and gas producer expands its LNG business to meet soaring demand.Western sanctions on Russian fuel has choked an already undersupplied market and sent buyers scrambling for the heating fuel.

Amplify Energy Corp withdrew its full-year forecast on Monday, saying that a large oil spill from one of its subsea pipelines in southern California last month forced it to shut its operations in the region.In mid-October, the U.S. Coast Guard said about 588 barrels (25,000 gallons) of crude oil was spilt, about a fifth as much as it initially estimated, from a pipeline connected to an offshore facility owned by Amplify's unit.The oil and gas producer said on Monday that it was under multiple investigations by state and federal authorities over the incident…

Malaysian oil company Petronas and China-based oil firm CNOOC, have signed a memorandum of understanding to "pursue mutual growth through closer collaboration.""The MoU elevates the long-standing relationship between the two parties from primarily liquefied natural gas (LNG) and upstream projects towards a shared ambition in energy security and cleaner energy solutions," Petronas said.The parties will "intensify" collaboration in LNG, upstream exploration & development projects…

Equinor reported the oil industry's first coronavirus infection on an offshore installation on Wednesday, highlighting the challenge in preventing contamination for thousands of workers living in the close quarters on rigs and platforms.A worker was in isolation on the Norwegian energy firm's Martin Linge oil and gas platform off Norway where production is due to start at the end of this year, the company said. It said it would cut activity at the field, but personnel would remain at installations, while workers would reduce meetings and sit further apart in canteens to prevent further contamination. It has 776 people working on the project spread across three installations, Martin Linge, the Maersk Intrepid drilling rig and the Floatel Endurance accommodation rig.

China’s largest offshore oil and gas producer China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) and Chinese state-owned shipping and logistics giant China Ocean Shipping Company (COSCO) signed a strategic cooperation framework agreement.Capt. Xu Lirong, Chairman of COSCO Shipping, Wang Dongjin, Chairman of CNOOC, Mr. Fu Gangfeng, Director of the Board and President of COSCO shipping and Xu Keqiang, Vice President of CNOOC witnessed the signing of the agreement.Huang Xiaowen, Executive Vice President of COSCO Shipping and Ms. Wen DongFen, Chief Accountant of CNOOC inked the agreement on behalf of the two sides.Han Jun, Assistant to the President of COSCO Shipping and Chairman of COSCO Shipping Logistics…

At least three tankers are on their way to Asia with U.S. oil cargoes after Washington gave temporary approval to wind down transactions with a Chinese shipping company that it sanctioned last month, according to data and shipping sources.In one of the biggest sanctions actions taken by the U.S. government since its crackdown on Iranian oil exports, Washington on Sept. 25 announced sanctions on Chinese tanker companies, including COSCO Shipping Tanker (Dalian), a subsidiary of…

The global oilfield communication market is expected to grow with a CAGR of 8% over the forecast period 2019-2024, said a study.With the growing adoption of cloud-based services, oil companies are compelled to use oil field communication, said a report from ResearchAndMarkets. This keeps their offshore sites connected with the inshore site about production stats, which helps in better supply chain management.The smooth flow of materials is very important for oil companies as their profitability is highly dependent upon the turnover and downtime needs to be avoided.For instance, GE Oil & Gas, the service provider to oil and gas companies has shifted 350 of its applications to Amazon's cloud offering…

A cyclone barrelled into eastern India on Friday, bringing down trees and power lines and "extensively" damaging the tourist town of Puri, but there were no early reports of casualties with a million people evacuated before it made landfall.Tropical Cyclone Fani, the strongest to hit India in five years, spent days building up power in the northern reaches of the Bay of Bengal before it struck the coast of the state of Odisha at around 8 a.m., the state-run India Meteorological Department (IMD) said.Howling winds gusting up to 200 kph (124 mph) whipsawed trees, uprooting scores, and driving rain impacted visibility, while streets were deserted in the state capital Bhubaneswar and Puri."Damage in Puri is extensive…

Neptune Energy Norge AS has hired the newly built Beacon Atlantic semi-submersible drilling rig for up to 16 wells offshore Norway.The oil and gas producer said in a press release that it has chartered the rig from China’s rig builder CIMC Raffles, and the rig will be managed by the Norwegian offshore drilling specialist Odfjell Drilling.The commencement of the drilling operations is expected to be in Q4 2019 and the estimated duration of the firm program is 400 days. CIMC Raffles and Odfjell Drilling are further establishing a project team at the shipyard to prepare and mobilize for the operations in the North Sea.CIMC Raffles and Odfjell…

China's state-owned offshore oil and gas producer CNOOC Ltd said it is confident of achieving its spending target this year, the highest since 2014, as its responds to a call to build up the nation's petroleum output and reserves.The company plans to spend 70 billion to 80 billion yuan ($10.3 billion to $11.8 billion) on exploration and production, CNOOC said in a press release on Wednesday, compared with an expected 63 billion yuan in capital spending for 2018.Beijing has called…

The oil and gas producer Neptune Energy has announced the appointment of Eko Lumadyo as Managing Director of its Indonesian business, based in Jakarta.Lumadyo will join Neptune from Mandala Energy Indonesia, where he is currently Country President and General Manager.Lumadyo has more than 30 years’ experience in upstream oil and gas exploration, development, planning, operations and commercial affairs. He started his career with Unocal as a geophysicist and progressed within the organisation from technical leadership through to Vice President of Deepwater Development.He held positions in Indonesia, Los Angeles and Texas. Subsequently he held senior roles with Black Gold Energy…

UK-based independent full-cycle oil and gas company confirmed that Indico-1 well in Colombia reached target depth of 10,604 feet and encountered the Lower Sands of the Une formation.The South America focused oil and gas producer, which owns 30% non-operated working interest in the Indico-1 well, said the Lower Sands package is the same formation which holds the 120 feet oil column discovered at nearby Mariposa, which lies some 6.5 kilometres to the North West of Indico-1.The Mariposa well has produced at a stable rate of approximately 3,200 barrels of oil per day in natural flow from 10 feet of perforations near the top of the 120 feet oil column for over a year…

Canadian oil and gas producer Encana has signed a deal to acquire all of the outstanding shares of common stock of Newfield Exploration Company in a USD 4.1 billion deal that will provide the former with significant positions in some of North America’s biggest oilfields.In addition, Encana will assume CAD 2.2 billion of Newfield net debt. The strategic combination will create a leading multi-basin company and has been unanimously approved by the Boards of Directors of both companies.Subject to receipt of regulatory and shareholder approvals by both companies, the transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2019.Under the terms of the merger agreement…

China's offshore oil and gas producer CNOOC has started developing a new gas field in the South China Sea, the official Xinhua News Agency reported on Tuesday.The Lingshui 17-2 gas field is the first deep sea gas block fully operated by a Chinese company, Xinhua said citing CNOOC officials.The deep sea project, which was discovered in 2014, is 150 km (94 miles) south of China's southern Hainan island, with an average operational depth of 1,500 metres, according to a Reuters report from that year.CNOOC is ready to start building a subsea level platform used for drilling, Xinhua said.(Reporting by Meng Meng and Aizhu Chen; Editing by Tom Hogue)

Royal Dutch Shell has introduced gas to its 490 meter (1,600 ft) long Prelude floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) unit as part of the cooling process before start-up, a spokeswoman told Reuters on Wednesday.Gas was fed to the unit from liquefied natural gas (LNG) carrier Gallina, she said.

Philippine fuel retailer Phoenix Petroleum said it had agreed to partner with a subsidiary of state-owned China National Offshore Oil Corp (CNOOC) to explore building a receiving terminal for liquefied natural gas in the country.The Philippines is seeking investors to build a storage and distribution facility for imported LNG as it moves to replace its Malampaya gas reserves, expected to be depleted by 2024.Phoenix Petroleum, owned by a local businessman who helped bankroll President Rodrigo Duterte's 2016 election campaign…

Shell aims to start exports from Prelude LNG this year; Inpex hopes to commence shipments from Ichthys LNG. Shell and Inpex are on the final stretch of a years-long race to export gas from offshore northern Australia, where both have spent billions of dollars building the world's biggest maritime vessels to grab a slice of Asia's booming LNG market. Anglo-Dutch energy major Royal Dutch Shell and Inpex, Japan's biggest oil and gas producer, are vying for first gas from two overlapping fields after delays and cost overruns that have plagued both projects. The pair have spent billions on offshore facilities, including Shell's 490 metre (1,600 ft) long Prelude floating liquefied natural gas unit and Inpex's Ichthys Explorer semi-submersible platform, both the world's largest of their class.

China's state-owned energy company CNOOC diverted two cargoes of imported liquefied natural gas (LNG) after a pipeline fire in northern China's Tianjin, though imports were normal as of Monday, traders with knowledge of the matter said on Tuesday. Reuters reported on Dec. 28 that a natural gas pipeline in Tianjin was closed after it ruptured and caught fire. Two sources with knowledge of CNOOC's gas operations in Tianjin said CNOOC diverted the LNG cargoes after the accident on the pipeline, which is connected to a domestic gas consumer. "Imports are now back to normal," said one source, adding that the cargoes were sold back to the supplier under force majeure terms. The source did not give further details. A CNOOC press official was not immediately able to comment.

China's offshore oil and gas producer CNOOC Ltd reported its worst annual result since at least 2011, with revenue from its core oil and gas business tumbling 17 percent last year, but it expects to raise output 2017 as oil prices rebound. CNOOC reported a net profit of 637 million yuan ($92.5 million) in 2016, down nearly 97 percent from 20.2 billion yuan in profit in 2015. Total revenue from oil and gas fell to 121 billion yuan from 147 billion yuan in 2015. "CNOOC managed to eke out a tiny profit thanks to cost efficiencies and the oil price rebound during 4Q…

Ghana's President Nana Akufo-Addo plans to sign an agreement to import liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Equatorial Guinea during his three-day visit to the Gulf of Guinea petroleum producer due to begin on Monday, his office said. Though an oil and gas producer in its own right since its flagship Jubilee field came on stream in 2010, Ghana has in the past struggled to ensure reliable power production for a growing domestic market. Equatorial Guinea, meanwhile, is exploring the possibility of selling a portion of its LNG cargos to its African neighbours. The statement from Akufo-Addo's communications director said the president was expected to sign a framework document with his counterpart President Teodoro Obiang Nguema to import LNG from Equatorial Guinea for five years.

China’s state-owned oil company, China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), and U.S. independent energy company Cheniere Energy have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for long-term sales and purchases of liquefied natural gas (LNG), Reuters reported. The report quoted U.S. State Department saying that the deal between the two companies was signed during president Trump’s first state visit to China. Neither companies disclosed details of the transaction. According to CNPC, the agreement would strengthen its cooperation with Cheniere in regards to the latter’s liquefaction and export project in the Gulf of Mexico. Cheniere is owner and operator of the first LNG export terminal in the U.S., Sabine Pass in Louisiana.

State-owned China Energy Reserve and Chemicals Group (CERCG) on Monday said it is investigating whether to ship liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Western Australia to the gas-hungry east coast market. The Chinese integrated energy firm, which runs oil and gas projects, processing plants and gas distribution, said in a press release to Reuters that subsidiary CERCG Australia is studying the viability of transporting LNG by road, rail and ship. CERCG Australia's business manager Kevin Gao said the company would use LNG container tanks which can maintain liquefaction for 110 days. "It should be possible for us to ship 100 or 200 of our 40-foot ISO containers, each containing 18 tonnes of LNG, from Australia's West Coast to customers on the East Coast," he said on Monday.